Match-machine.



u. A. TATUM s. W. H. PARKER.

MATH MACHINE.

APPLIATION FILED FEB. 10, 1909.

948,027.; Patented Feb.1,1910.

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C. A. TATUM & W. H. PARKER.

MATGH MACHINE.

- APPLIUATION FILED PEB. 1o, 1909,

948,027.. Patented Feb. 1, 1910.

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APPLIUATION FILED FEB. 10, 1909.

948,027. l Patented Feb. 1-, 1910,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

. A. TA'IUM a W. H. PARKERn MATCH MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED rms. 10, 1909.

948,027. 1 Patented Feb.1,1910.

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[UNITED sTAfrnsr'A'rENT onirica.

CHARLES A. TATUM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ANDWILLIAM H. PARKER, OF PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY, ASSIG'NORS` TO SAID TA'IUM.

MATCH-MACHINE.

`Specicmtion of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1910.

Application filed February 10, l1909. Serial No. 477,052.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLEs A. TATUM, of the city, county, and State of New York, and WILLIAM H. PARKER, of Passaic, Passaic county, New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Match-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Our invention relates to improvements in match machines, and the obj ect of our inven tion is to produce a machine in which a hop per is used and from which the match splints are delivered into a suitable carrier ready for dipping in the parathn and tiring compositions.

The object of our invention is to improve the character' of hopper machines used in connection with continuous carriers, to provide means by which several cutting machines can supply their splints to one hopper, to provide for delivering the splints straight and accurately either in one row or a plurality of rows to a carrier, and also to produce a simple form of carrier which is adapted to grip the individual splints l'irmly and yet in such a way as to enable them to be readily discharged.

In general, our invention is intended to produce amachine which is not expensive, which is very reliable, which will work rapidly, and will reduce the cost of matches.

Reference is to `be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views..

Figure 1 is a broken sectional view of the machine embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged broken detail view partly in section, showing the construction of the hopper. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan oi the machine. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the hopper and a part of the mechanism for operating it. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation showing the arrangement of the cutting machines and means by which they deliver to a single hopper. Fig. 6 is a detail on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5, showing the chute which delivers from one of the cutting machines into the hopper. Fig. 7 is a broken sectional elevation of a preferred form of hopper, in which a plurality of rows of splints are arranged for delivery to the carrier. Fig. 8 is a broken enlarged sectional view showing the preferred means of delivering splints in plural rows to the carrier. Fig. 9 is a broken face view of one of the carrier plates with the splint grippers therein. .1 Fig 10 is abroken detail view showing the blank from which the splint grippers areformed, and Fig.`11 is a section on the line 11-11 of Fig. 9.

The machine can be provided with any suitable supporting frame, and we have shown a frame 10 supporting the hopper mechanism, a frame 11 supporting the carrier mech+ anism,` and tie-bars 12 connecting the two frames. Thehopper 13 is mounted above the frame 10, and it has preferably though not necessarily, transparent sides so that the condition of the splints therein can be readily observed. It also has a spout 14 at the top, and a raised side 14a opposite the spout so that the splints can be readily delivered into it in straight condition. The hop Ver 13 reciprocates over a bed plate 15 in whlch there are a series of grooves 16 adapted to receive the splints 17 which lie straight in the hopper 13. There may be a single row of these grooves 16, of such depth that each will receive one splint at a time only, or the grooves may be of graduated depths as shown in Fig. 7 so that one row of groovesas for instance 16a-will be deep, a second row will be less deep shown at 16h, and this arrangement might be carried still further if desired. Where this arrangement is used, the grooves 16fL are as much deeper than the grooves 16h as the required space between the rows of splints in a carrier.

Where the deeper grooves 16a are used, the hopper 13 moves over a plate 16c which rests on the plate 15, between the hopper and said plate 15, and which has teeth 16d (see Figs. 7 and 8) extending down into the grooves 16a, and to within about the thickness of a match splint from the bottom of the groove, so that the teeth will prevent more than one match at a time from being discharged from each groove.

The principle of the machine is the same whether a single or a plurality of rows of splints are pushed from the hopper. The drawings, Figs. 1 to l show the machine as adapted to the single row of splints.

The hopper 13 can be reciprocated in any convenient way so as to cause the splints to be shaken down into the grooves 16, and it is shown arranged between brackets 18 having feet 18a moving in suitable grooves in the top of the machine frame, and one ofthese brackets is pivoted as shown at 19 in Fig. 4, toa pitman 2O connected with and operated by an eccentric 21 on a shaft 22. This shaft is mounted in suitable brackets 23, and it can be provided with a driving pulley 24 shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, or with any other suitable driving means.

When the hopper has been reciprocated and the grooves 16 filled with splints, the splints are ejected from the grooves by the plungers 26 (see Figs. 1 and 3) which move through a suitable guide-bar 25 and are thus causedl to accurately enter the grooves 16, thereby pushing the splints from the grooves into the carrier 36 which will be hereinafter referred to. Any suitable means can be used for operating the plungers, but as shown they are carried by a cross head 27 which moves in suitable guide ways 28 and is actuated by a pitman 29 connecting with a crank 30 on the shaft 31, the latter being mounted in bearings 32 and connecting by gear wheels 33 and 34 with the shaft 22 already referred to.

When the splints are ejected from the hopper by the mechanism just described, they are forced' into the carrier plates 35, which as shown in Fig. 1, can be of any usual type, but We prefer to use the form of carrier shown' in Figs. 7 to 10, and hereinafter referred to in detail. The carrier plates, Whatever they may be, are linkedi together by the links 37 in the customary manner, and they are carried over suitable sprocket wheels 38. To insure that the carrier plates are held firm while the splints are inserted in them, guides 39 are arranged so that the sides of the carrier will move through them at this point, these guides being vertical, and placed as shown in Figs. 1 and-1 3. Obviously the carrier can be moved in any usual or suitable manner, and we have shown the sprocket Wheels 38 carrled on shafts 4'0 and 41, arranged one above the other, the upper shaft connecting by gears 42 and 43 shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, with a vertical shaft 44 which also connects by' gears 45 and 46- with.- the lower shaft 41,

.and thelatter connects by gears 47 and 48 (see Fig. 3) with a shaft 49 which is mounted in brackets 50 and connects by gears 51 and 52'Wit`h the shaft 31 already referred to.

The driving mechanism which we have described and which is shown in Fig. 3, makes a very convenient way of driving the several parts, but of course this is not essential, and any suitable driving means can be employed.

As beforel remarked, the preferred form of hopper andl carrier, and ofmechanism for passing the splints from the hopper into the carrier, is shown in Figs. 7 to 10. Here a carrier platel 53 isused which can be hinged ini the carrier chains as is usualy in machines of:v this kind and as shownA in the drawings,

and this plate is provided with longitudinalslots 54 which will therefore be transverse of the carrier 36. The grippers are held in the slots and are formed from metallic plates which have projecting fingers 56 shown in blank form in Fig. 10, and in fin ished form` in Fig. 11. These fingers are bent so as to extend through the plates 53 and project from the back thereof, and the fingers when shaped are preferably concaved so that they will nicely grip the splints 17. They are arranged so that the fingers on one plate will come opposite those of the next adjacent plate, as shown clearly in the drawings, and thus semi-tubular grippers are formed which will grip the splints 17 nicely and will permit them to be ejected in the customary manner after they have been dipped. This arrangement enables the fingers to be made up very easily and to be readily inserted in the slots of the plate 53, while at the same time by straddling the parts between the slots, the fingers are securely held in place. Moreover, the backs of the slots, that is the slot walls, serve to stiffen the fingers.

Referring to Figs. 7 and 8, it will be seen that here we have shown plural rows of plungers 26 which are arranged at different elevations, the distance between the two rows corresponding to the desired spacing of the match splints and to the distance between the rows of fingers 56 in the carrier plate 53. The guide plate 25 is of course shaped to receive the two rows of plungers 26, and the upper plungers coincide with the splint grooves 16" in the hopper bed 15, while the lower plungers register with the lower portions of the grooves 16a. Consequently, when the plungers arepushed forward by the mechanism already described, they will push out two rows of splints and deliver the same into the grippers of the carrier plate;

In Figs. 5 and 6 is shown the arrangement by which the product of several cutting machines can be delivered into the hopper 13. As illustrated, the cutting machines A and B can be of any approved type, and they are mounted on a floor 57 or equivalent support, so that they will be above the hopper 13. Extending diagonally downward through the floor are supports 58, one being longer than the other, and they can conveniently be angle irons as shown in Fig. 6. These, as illustrated, are stiffened by suit-able braces 59 and 60. The longer supports 58 carry a chute 61, and the other braces carry a shorter chute 61a. The longer chute takes the product from the machine A, and the shorter chute the product from the machine B, and the chute 61l is similar to the chute 61 and discharges into it. There is nothing novel about the construction of these chutes and they have the usual straightening partitions 62, but the arrangement of them and the means for oscillating them, is believed to be new. The chutes 61 and 61 connect with their supports by links 63 so that they can be shaken, and any suitable means can be employed for doing this. To provide for shaking them together, likewise any suitable connections can be used, but as shown in Fig. 5, a bell crank 64 is pivoted on one of the supports 58, as shown at 65, and has one arm pivoted to the chute 61 while the second arm connects by a pit-man 66 with a lever 67 which is pivoted to the shorter supports 58 as shown at 68, and also pivoted to the chute 61a as shown at 69. Consequently the two chutes 61 and 61a move together. The chute 61 thus delivers the splints from both machines straight in the hopper 13. A simple means is shown for shaking the chutes, although any suitable shaking means can be substituted. As shown, levers 7 0 are pivoted as shown at 72 to the lower ends of the long supports 58, and the levers are provided with counterbalancing weight-s 71, and one of them is pivoted at 73 to a pitman 7 4; which connects with an eccentric 75 on the shaft 22 (see Fig. 3).

From the foregoing description it will be seen that we have provided a very simple means for deliverin the product of several splint cutting machines to a single hopper, and of rapidly and accurately discharging the splints from the hopper into the carrier. This arrangement makes a very rapid working machine, because where the splints are cut and delivered from the cutting mechanism to a carrier in the ordinary way, the capacity of the machine is limited to the capacity of the cutter, and the machines are slower than they should be in operation, but by this arrangement, a great quantity of splints can be provided and rapidly fed in plural rows, if desired, into the carrier.

Attention is called to the fact that in this machine the hopper itself reciprocates over the grooved bed plate, and this is a distinct advantage because the bed plate is thus left stationary so that it is always in the right position with relation to its plungers, and to the carrier, and moreover, the reciprocat ing of the hopper shakes the splints, keeps them loose, and makes it certain that the grooves of the bed plate are lled.

Having thus fully described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent r- 1. A match machine comprising` a splint carrier, a stationary bed plate having plural series of splint containing grooves therein, the grooves ot' the series being of diierent depths, a splint containing hopper reciprocating' across the top of the bed plate, and plungers arranged in series to enter the aforesaid grooves and push the splints from the grooves into the carrier.

2. A match machine comprising a reciprocating splint containing hopper having means for supporting splints at different elevations, a splint carrier, and plungers arranged in series to push the splints into the carrier.

CHARLES A. TATUM. WILLIAM H. PARKER.

Witnesses WARREN B. HUroHlNsoN, FRANK L. STUBBs. 

